The Zeppo
by Raidersrule76
Summary: One shot. Beast Boy stumbles on a private discussion and makes an important realization...he doesn't matter. Told through the point of view of another Titan.


RR76: Somethin' spontanious. Angstyer than usual. Enjoy dammit.

* * *

"It had all happened so fast. 

Nobody actually thought you would go anywhere. They have no respect for you. They think they know you. They were wrong. What we said, what we did...I don't know about the others, but I never meant it. I never wanted to hurt you. And yet I did. I hurt you in the worst possible way.

I made you lose your trust in your friends.

And when you left, a piece of us all went with you. They may not notice at first--heartless bastards. But sooner or later (probably later, now that I mention it), they'll notice your abscence. Cyborg won't have his best friend anymore. Starfire won't smile as much--her prime source of humor gone. Robin...well, lets face it. He's an asshole. He wouldn't care if you exploded in a bloody gory haze not suitable for children under 14. But the others, I know they care about you. And so do I. And for all those days, all I could think about was you. All that time, I only thought six words.

Please come back safe, Beast Boy..."

* * *

"I remember that day with perfect clarity. You had gone off to the store, looking for some kind of sauce to lather your tofu in, and the rest of us did what we always did when you were out: sit around and play cards, making small talk while we were at it. At first it was the usual stuff we always talked about--Starfire told us about her planets' customs, Cyborg and Robin got locked in a friendly duel to the death. And then, like always, the conversation turned to you. 

'Hey Cy, why don't you go make us some burgers? I'm starving," Robin said.

'I wish I could, but Beast Boy threw out the patties. AND the grill, AND the buns, AND the cheese...'

'Again? Beast Boy seems determined to keep us from consuming food that does not taste like the plaster,' Starfire sighed.

'You know, just the other day I woke up to find him trying to force feed me tofu in my sleep? What a dumbass!' Cyborg laughed.

Robin laughed. 'I mean, come one! Not only is he the most annoying person on the planet, but he's practically worthless! Everyone here has kicked the ass of a supervillian at least once in their lives, what has Beast Boy done? That Adonis loser? The evil alien rock monster?'

'Aren't you forgetting the tofu things that wanted to blow up the world?' I reminded them, trying to get them off of your back. They took it the wrong way.

'Woooo, scary space tofu! Watch out, they'll give you low-calorie poisoning!' Cyborg mocked. The others laughed. I grew uncomfortable.

'Man, you ask me, things would have been better if he'd never come at all!' Robin proclamed. The others nodded their agreement.

'Come on guys, you don't really mean that, do you?" I asked, still defending you.

'Oh, come on Rae,' Cyborg said, grinning. 'We all know he bugs you the most. It's like his whole life revolves around annoying you!' The other stared at me, waiting for my agreement. I sighed, finally relenting.

'Yeah...he can be pretty annoying. And loud. And it probably would be alot more peaceful without him. But that doesn't mean--'

Crash. The sound of glass hitting the ground filled our ears. All eyes turned to the door, where lo and behold...there you were. Even from where I was, I could see the tears in your eyes. The look of hurt. Of betrayel. It's burned into my memory.

'Oh God...' I whispered as you turned to walk out the door. I got up to chase after you, ignoring the others as they continued to mock you.

'Beast Boy, please I didn't mean it!' I said, stepping up behind you.

You stopped and without turning around said 'Then why did you say it?' And you continued to walk down the hall.

'Beast Boy, I'm sorry," I said softly, reaching for your arm. You pulled away and grabbed your communicator off your belt.

'Give this to Robin,' you muttered to me, dropping it at my feet. 'I quit.' And with that, you walked out the door. Out of our lives. And I fell to my knees and wept."

* * *

Raven sat in a chair next to Beast Boy's unconcious body lying in the hospital bed as she finished recounting her memories. "A few days later the hospital called, said they found you in an alley, badly beaten. Like you'd gotten into a fight. They brought you over, tried to revive you, but you had been there too long. You'd slipped into a coma. The doctors say--" her voice cracked and trembled, but she held back the tears and finished speaking. "They say you may never recover." 

She looked at Beast Boy and touched his cheek. It was cold and damp. "Well...I guess I should look at the positives," she said, smiling through her tears. "No loud videogames...as often. No more arguments about tofu. No more..."

Her heart skipped a beat. "Who am I kidding," Raven sobbed. "There are no positives here."

She grabbed his shoulders and started to shake him. "Come on, Beast Boy, wake up! I miss you! WE miss you! Starfire's all mopey, and Cyborg's quiet and Robin is an insensitive asshole and doesn't care, but that doesn't matter because the rest of us are dying without you! Please! Wake up!" She lost her will to...um...shake and finally rested her head on Beast Boy's chest, crying.

_You're wrong _a familiar voice said in her mind. Raven's head shot up. "B-beast Boy?" she sobbed. "I-is that you?"

_You're wrong, _Beast Boy's voice repeated. _If any of them really did care about me, do you think they'd be at home playing video games?  
_

"Beast...Beast Boy...don't"

_Goodbye Raven. At least now, you'll have your quiet. _

"beeeeeeeeeeeeeep," the heart moniter gave a long, steady beep. Beast Boy's heart had stopped. The tears came anew and Raven shouted his name, to no avail. Beast Boy, the heart of the team, the joker the lighthearted hellion who held a special place in the heart of the daughter of Trigon...

...was dead.

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RR76: Review. 


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